Page 27 of Bound to the Orc Guardian

I laugh, picturing a tiny version of Dash with huge eyes zipping around a bunch of othermini unicorns. My mind almost explodes at the thought of baby unicorns. “You must have been so adorable! I want to see unicorn babies!”

“You like younglings,” Sturrm growls into my ear, his arm tightening around me.

I shiver, my body springing to instant awareness of his behind me.

“Of course!” I say. “You better like kids if you’re going to be a family practitioner.”

“Practitioner? I thought your world no longer had magic.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t mean magic practitioner. It’s the type of medical doctor I wanted to be. The kind the whole family could come to, even the children.”

His deep voice goes soft. “Will you miss not being able to do that on your world?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it much.” It’s true. The thrill of my healing magic kind of overshadowed any thought ofwhoI’d be able to heal. Besides everything that happened with Papi, I want to become a doctor to help the Hispanic community, which is historically underserved in America. It’s one of the reasons I volunteer at a clinic in a poorer section of the city instead of at the fancy university hospital with most of my classmates.

But do I miss the fact that I’d have to keep grinding my way through med school, graduate with a mountain of student debt, and work for years as a resident before ever having my own practice?

Carajo no.

Besides, doctors can’t fix everything. But here, with this magic, I can. I hold my hand up in front of my face, wigglingmy fingers. I could have healed Papi. Tears prick my eyes. Then I remember he’d be the first person to tell me it’s amazing that I can make sure no one else loses their father young.

“No,” I say, a sad smile tugging at my lips. “I’m glad to be here, to have this magic. It feels like… I’m finally the person I was always meant to be.”

Sturrm’s arms tighten around me, but he doesn’t say anything, letting me feel what I feel. I like that. I like that a lot. Younger guys would talk, most likely about themselves, but Sturrm has the experience to give me the space I need.

After a few minutes, Dash says, “Well, I knowI’mglad for your magic. I’ve never run so far, so fast.”

“I didn’t realize healing that cut on your neck would help you run.”

“I don’t mean that,” he says. “You’re constantly healing me as I gallop. It’s the only reason I’ve been able to go at this speed without more breaks. Especially carrying someone as heavy as an orc.”

Sturrm grunts.

“Huh. I hadn’t realized.” I pat Dash’s neck, my palm tingling a little bit, the connection to my magic obvious now that I touch him with bare skin. My necklace flares, dimming again when I remove my hand from him to lift the crystal up for a better view. It hasn’t gone completely dark—a tiny flicker glows in the center. Closing my eyes, I concentrate, trying to feel my magic. It takes a while. This isn’t the electric sizzle I get when I heal a more acute injury. It’s a subtle background hum, easily ignored because it’s always there,like the sound of an air conditioner you don’t notice until it shuts off.

I go deeper. Maybe I won’t need years of med school to use my magic, but the perpetual student in me still wants to understand it more. Magic radiates from me in… auroras, glistening clouds of power that aren’t really light, but that’s the best analogy I have, so I run with it. It shines white all around me, but when I pull inward near my heart, I start to see different “colors.”

Magic flows from where my body connects with Dash, spreading through his legs and back, which glow orange with the constant strain of muscle fatigue. That makes sense based on what he told me, but I’m surprised to see other threads of power, too. The faintest red light radiates off my back and into Sturrm. I’m healing him just the tiniest bit all the time—probably the muscle strain of him keeping us both seated securely on the galloping unicorn, using only the strength of his legs. Lastly, there’s a red glow all through me that doesn’t extend past my skin. It looks like I’m constantly healing myself as well, which is awesome, because I sure don’t have the right muscles for riding. I kind of wondered why I didn’t get sore when all the stories about learning to ride say it’s painful.

“I’m healing all three of us all the time, and I didn’t even realize it.” I crane my neck to look back at Sturrm. “Did you know?”

He shakes his head. “I haven’t noticed anything.”

“Maybe because I’m healing you the least.”

“Orcs are strong and built for stamina.”

“Orcsaren’t the ones doing the running,” Dash says dryly.

“We’re lucky to have you.” I pat his neck, and another zap of extra healing energy flows into him. I leave my hand there and try to be more conscious about my healing, starting with feeling where he needs it. My magic flows through him, streams winding their way back to me, like little diagnostic spells. Dios mio, that’s amazing! His heart needs support to continue to pump at an increased rate for so long. For his muscles, ligaments, and tendons, much of the strain is in his legs, but his back needs healing as well. He’s not joking about how much of a burden it is to carry the two of us.

I concentrate on those areas with the greatest need, focusing my magic instead of sending it evenly throughout his body. He begins to heal even faster.

“Goddess, I don’t know what you just did, but that’s even better,” Dash says.

“I’m trying to take more control of my magic.” I dig my fingers into his coat and give a little scratch. “This is great practice.”

“Be my rider always.” He turns his head to look at me, all playfulness gone from his voice. “I mean it. I will be your mount forever.”

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